“Kicked our butts last year in a game that really ended up hurting us, even though it was our first conference game... So, we’ve got to handle going back there again.”
One of these teams is not like the others. …
Boise State, Michigan, Minnesota, San Jose State, Oklahoma.
Did you guess?
Those are the five teams that have beaten the University of New Mexico football team in coach Jason Eck’s first 20 games on the job. It’s amazing for a school with a limited football resume such as New Mexico that we can still count the losses for Eck on one hand.
All the teams but San Jose State are traditional football powerhouses. Even Minnesota has won nine consecutive bowl game appearances.
UNM and SJSU reconnect, again in San Jose, Calif., Saturday. The league-leading Lobos (6-1, 3-0) are a 14.5-point favorite over the Spartans (4-4, 2-2) and are trying to run their record to 7-1 for the first time since 1982 – the only time the school produced a 10-win season.
The Spartans are the team that – looking back – is the head-scratching defeat for the Lobos. It’s also the loss that kept UNM from playing in the Mountain West championship game because of SJSU’s 3-9 record last year that dragged the Lobos’ computer ranking below those of UNLV and Boise State.
“Kicked our butts last year in a game that really ended up hurting us, even though it was our first conference game,” Eck said. "So, we’ve got to handle going back there again.”
Eck’s not lying. Behind the tandem of quarterback Walter Eget (26 of 30 for 327 yards and three touchdowns) and wide receiver Danny Scudero (seven catches, 151 yards, one TD), the Spartans built a commanding 35-17 lead – UNM’s biggest deficit though the first five games of a schedule that included games at Michigan and at UCLA – before finishing with a 35-28 victory.
Stranger still is the fact that the Lobos have not enjoyed a victory in San Jose, Calif., since the Nixon administration (1969) – a span of seven games.
Fortunately for UNM, Eget is now playing for Duke, Scudero is scuffling with only five catches at Colorado and the Lobo defense is a different animal than the one the Spartans faced last season.
In games this year at New Mexico State and Hawaii, the pass defense was vulnerable to vertical routes across the formation – wide receivers going across the field to the other hash mark, Eck said.
North Dakota State tried to mimic that attack during its first series last Saturday, only to see Lobo safety C.J. McBean get an interception.
The Spartans used a trio of quarterbacks in their 28-13 loss at Nevada last Friday, so the Lobos are focusing on the plays SJSU utilizes, not which QB is playing. Luke Weaver has the most experience, throwing for 1,620 yards, 11 TDs and six interceptions. Daniel Rolovich has played in two games and Robert McDaniel one.
UNM, meanwhile, is still trying to work on its passing attack to ease the burden on quarterback Toa Fa’avae. He has thrown only 24 passes in the last two weeks combined, and the scoring has cooled considerably with only five offensive TDs during that span.
“I think we’ve got to continue to be more consistent with the passing game,” Eck said. “I think we’ve got to continue to get a lot of reps with Toa. Just keep trying to build confidence and reps so we can execute and get the ball out on time.”
Adding to Fa’avae’s learning curve is facing a Spartans defense that ranks fourth in the nation in sacks.
The other theme this week for the Lobos is not letting their feet off the gas pedal after a big win over the Bison last weekend.
“I think it’s easy just to point out in college football this year how many teams that have had really good wins and then flopped the next week,” Eck said. “We’ve seen it in our league. Air Force had a great win against UNLV a couple of weekends ago and then come back and lose at Wyoming."
Eck also pointed at Geogia beating Alabama, then losing to Auburn and BYU beating Notre Dame before losing at Central Florida as lessons to heed.
“Really just trying to point that out,” he said. “We need to be the exception of what’s become the norm of teams regressing after a big win.”
Of the five losses in the Eck Lobo era, SJSU is the first opponent that UNM can avenge that loss and continue its march on a 10-win season, a conference championship and a run at the national college football playoffs.
Then, it’ll be the 2026 team that’s unlike the others – in Lobo football lore.
Seeking revenge in San Jose! At 6-1, the league-leading UNM Lobos head to California to avenge last year’s frustrating loss to the Spartans, break a 55-year road curse, and keep their Mountain West championship and playoff hopes alive under head coach Jason Eck.